The recent Infecting the City outdoor festival inspired more than just creativity in the Central City: it also inspired a group of horticulture students and volunteers to restore the rockery garden at the Cape Town Station.
The rockery is situated in one of the public spaces that are an integral part of the new station development. But, sadly, it had been neglected for years and continues to be vandalised even though the rest of the station property has undergone a massive facelift.
Infecting the City is all about public art that demands a response, and it was clear that the rehabilitation of the rockery was an ideal project to form part of the festival. The lines between art and work were blurred as a group of students and volunteers set about their task during the festival week from 21 to 26 February.
Benjamin Festus, Senior Outreach Greening Horticulturist at the Gold Fields Environmental Education Centre, was pleased to be part of the project. He called in the assistance of four horticulture students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, currently gaining work experience at Kirstenbosch.
“We saw the project as a perfect fit with the SANBI outreach greening programme,” Festus said. “We need more gardens in public spaces, especially in the City where nature can often feel removed from the people.”
Tasso Evangelinos, COO of the Central City Improvement District, was pleased to offer his organisation’s support for the project.
“We assisted with covering the cost of the rehabilitation,” he noted. “We also want to ensure that this is more than just a temporary facelift, so we’re working with the City to find ways that the garden can be maintained and kept looking its best.”
More information: www.infectingthecity.com/2011
